General Cycling Discussion - what do you do about bugs?

Hi,

Okay maybe a dumbish question and I did (sorta) look through the threads to see if someone else already asked about it, but I'm being annoyed by bugs flying into (and around) my mouth and nose (and eyes when not wearing sunglasses).

It's gotten so I've semi-seriously thought of wearing a mask like for sanding drywall :rolleyes: .

I use bugspray and that pretty much takes care of bites, but not this. I *can't* be the only one dealing with this. What do/have you done to cut down on this particular annoyance?

Haven't had that problem, Just where sunglasses to keep them from hitting your eyes and ride fast enough that the bugs can't keep up. :)

Ahha... it might have to do with the heavy (open-mouthed) breathing, sweaty, at the slow pace I'm able to handle right now .. duh! .. good thought that as I improve my unrequested protien will decrease .. laughing to myself ... what an outta~shape~newbie~biker~thang :rolling eyes:

Ahha... it might have to do with the heavy (open-mouthed) breathing, sweaty, at the slow pace I'm able to handle right now ..

Yes, that's a major part of bug swallowing accidents :p . But really, serious cyclists always wear glasses/sunglasses. Partially because we look so cool that way, and more importantly, it's really difficult to look cool digging bugs out of one's eyes.

It only takes a few bug swallows (and only ONE bee/wasp swallow) to keep your mouth closed in the future.

East Hill

In the eye - bad, wear glasses.
In the mouth - it won't kill you. If you want to know why the cyclist is smiling while riding - it is to strain out the bugs...

I've found the flavor of the bug cloud varies as well, for example, the Gnats in Eastern Indiana have a sweeter taste than the gnats in Southern Indiana.:p

In my rural commuting I often encounter biting flies, mosquitoes and other bugs on these wooded roads.

I follow these three guidelines:
1) Ride Fast
2) Keep Mouth Shut
3) Don't Stop
:D

just giggling at the comments .. flavored bugs indeed .. perhaps a new gummi~bear? .. gummi~bug

yeppers, I figured out the eye one pretty fast *lol* .. it also didn't help the first time to get bug repellant (on my hands) near the eyes .. ~ouch~ now keeping a set of sunglasses in my bike bag as general policy

Swallow.

Just consider them extra nutrients for those long rides. ;)

Brush my teeth afterwards... :rolleyes:

Just kiddin'. First, I wear sunglasses to keep the bugs out of my eyes. Second, I tend to breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. Keeps from swallowing one of the big ones.

Brush my teeth afterwards... :rolleyes:

Just kiddin'. First, I wear sunglasses to keep the bugs out of my eyes. Second, I tend to breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. Keeps from swallowing one of the big ones.
You could make a hood of mosquito-type netting.

Where I live has this problem too at certain times of the year--HUGE MASSIVE clouds of bugs, usually gnats. They don't bite to any effect, but there's so d*** many of them it's difficult-to-impossible to ride.
They get in your eyes, your nostrils, your ears. they FILL your hair, if you have any. Any exposed sweaty skin they stick to all the way home. You can't brush them off at all, that smooshes them all over you--when you get home you first have to HOSE yourself off outside. If you're jogging or walking they can get out of the way in time--but riding any decent speed on a bike, you simply get covered.

Where I am mostly they come out in late-afternoon until dark, and I won't ride at that time much of the year, just because of the f*****' bugs. Rarely do I see them in the early-mornings at all.

My final solution is a bit radical, but pretty safe: I'm moving the the desert-southwest this year. :D
Not much humidity or bugs either.
Yahoo!
~

Bugs are high in protein. They will help you with your ride.

Safety glasses like those found in home improvement centers provide good coverage and come in dark or clear and are very impact-resistant and UV-blocking.
Hard to ride hard with your mouth closed. If you must wear a mask, a drywall dust-type mask (N-95) is overkill and too restrictive. Find a "nuisance dust" type or something aimed at runners. Or, try a bandana. Or, a mosquito netting hood suggested above (doug5150).

right now we have swarms of black flies,
have to grit your teeth and wear glasses.
the safety or shooting glasses work well.

Thanks people :)

Doug, I actually was thinking about doing a mosquito net thing .. and now that you mentioned it, it is worse on the evening rides.

Jan, the bandana is another possibility too

The safety glasses have been mentioned several times so I'm going to go find a couple of pairs.

Again, thanks everyone for the responses (cute and informative both :) )

Headsweats skull cap under the helmet.

I have not found a solution for the mouth since I am a heavy mouth breather when really pushing it. Face mask like woodworkers wear would be ideal but terribly inconvenient, slow down the breathing and pretty dumb looking, if that matters.

breathe thru your teeth

Safety glasses for the eyes, water to wash down the ones that get in my mouth. Once you get beyond the gagging reflex as they try frantically to wriggle back out of your throat you'll be fine.

Black sunglasses, bandana tied over your mouth in a western robber style...

http://bankguys.us/photos-br/20060627_dollar_castleshannon.jpg

I wear safety glasses to keep the bugs out of my eyes. Dragonflys come out in the summer about dark. If one of those were to hit me in the eye, it could cause me to crash. I don't trust sunglasses as they will easily shatter.

To keep bugs out of your mouth do as the other poster stated. Breath through your teeth.

When I need to have a big open mouth breathing session I just point my face down as far as i can and keep looking up at the road. Bugs in the helmet suck too though. I saw a full face bike helmet at the LBS that was interesting too. It wasn't like a motorcycle helmet though, it was just like a regular bike helmet, with a big plastic piece that came down in front of the mouth, with a little mesh screen for breathing. it was by Giro for $110. I thought it would be nice to keep bugs out of the mouth, and shrubery off of the face :D

I wear safety glasses to keep the bugs out of my eyes... I don't trust sunglasses as they will easily shatter.

I can picture it now...
http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE-985087reg.jpg

Or better yet, add this too...
http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE-989509reg.jpg

Just kidding. Seriously though, I've had the "bug in mouth" problem when jogging near dusk, but never on the bike. I just assumed it was somehow related to the speeds involved. Regardless, I never do either without some form of eye protection.

I wear safety glasses to keep the bugs out of my eyes. Dragonflys come out in the summer about dark. If one of those were to hit me in the eye, it could cause me to crash. I don't trust sunglasses as they will easily shatter.

To keep bugs out of your mouth do as the other poster stated. Breath through your teeth.

wow thats pretty extreme....I guess those shatterproof squash/racketball goggles would work too.

I took a bumblebee in the eye once while riding at night. I can confirm that it SUCKS, and I've worn glasses when riding (99% of the time) ever since.

As for bugs in the mouth, just close it :)

Schampa - Fleeceprene Half Mask with Mesh Breather

... but I can't find it anywhere. It's been discontiued by Schampa. Please re-post it you find it somewhere online.

The hunting stores "Bass Pro Shops" have netted face masks ... but they are all camoflage.

http://www.rockheadbikes.com/Schampa_Fleeceprene_Half_Mask_w_Mesh_p/501151.htm

I just ordered from these people ... $36 after shipping. I hope it works. I have something else from Schampa, but the mesh area isn't big enough for breating.

Also ... You'll need to adjust the fit each time you look backwards as it tends to move with your head.

I took a bumblebee in the eye once while riding at night. I can confirm that it SUCKS, and I've worn glasses when riding (99% of the time) ever since.

As for bugs in the mouth, just close it :)

I have the same problem as the OP. I try to keep my mouth closed, but sometimes when I'm out of the saddle, climbing a steel hill I HAVE to open my mouth.

Anyway, I was coming down a mountain at a pretty good clip one time and swallowed a very large bug (not sure what it was because it happened too fast but the wings were huge so I assumed it was a dragon fly or something). It literally shot down my throat in an instant and the impact of hitting the back of my throat killed it. It wasn't that bad... kind of salty. :)

Holy living dead thread.

Holy living dead thread.

Haha. I didn't bother checking the date of the OP. Just hit "new posts" and saw it. Oops. :)

Well, I never did get to move.

What you could look into now for this problem is Zipper makes a fairing suitable for mounting on an upright bike.
http://www.zzipper.com/
They have the little one shown on the TT bike, but I am thinking of the much bigger one shown on the RANS Zenetic. I've never seen the kit in person, but it looks like it shouldn't be impossible to fit onto a regular bike.

I have also noticed that the clouds of gnats don't like car traffic; they don't congregate near roads with many cars going by.

Another thing to check is where your headlight is mounted.
My first recumbent bike had a seating position so reclined that if I put a headlight on the usual handlebar location, it ended up about three inches below the level of my chin, and the result was a never-ending stream of bugs hitting me in the face at night. When I moved the headlight down to the front wheel axle, the bugs-in-the-face stopped totally.